Bracketology 2023: Latest field of 68 projections heading into March

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /

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Bracketology Miami guard Isaiah Wong Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /

West Region (Las Vegas)

(1) Houston vs. (16) Morehead State/Norfolk State
(8) Providence vs. (9) Kentucky
(5) Miami vs. (12) Oral Roberts
(4) Saint Mary’s vs. (13) Liberty
(6) Northwestern vs. (11) Arizona State/Mississippi State
(3) Marquette vs. (14) UC-Irvine
(7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Rutgers
(2) Baylor vs. (15) Montana State

Out in the West Region the Houston Cougars have been one of the most consistent teams in the country in a season that has seen teams struggle to stay on a winning path. Houston is 27-2 having lost at home to Temple by a single point and No. 1 overall seed Alabama 71-65. They hold a top-100 strength of schedule and have a road win at Virginia and over Saint Mary’s on a neutral floor in one of the best defensive games of the year. The metrics love the Cougars, along with being the NET’s top team, they are the No. 1 team in all three predictive metrics and top-4 in the results-based ones as well. Houston is a strong No. 1 seed but taking care of business in the upcoming AAC tournament would leave no doubt and give them a case for the No. 1 overall seed.

If you like guard play in March look no further than the West Region. Houston’s trio of Marcus Sasser, Tramon Mark, and Jamal Shead lead the way for the Cougars, but the region is loaded with them. Baylor’s triumvirate of Keyonte George, Adam Flagler, and LJ Cryer is sitting there with the No. 2 seed, while Miami’s Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, and Nigel Pack along with Logan Johnson and Aidan Mahaney are also lurking. This region would be chock full of dynamic backcourt matchups.

If there’s a team to watch in this region it’s the ever-dangerous No. 12 seed Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. The Summit League champs finished the regular season 27-4 and are the only team in the country to go unblemished in conference play at 18-0. They are led by yet another dynamic guard, senior Max Abmas who is 6th in the country in scoring at 22.3 per game. This is a team that has lost just once prior to Thanksgiving, on the road at New Mexico. Their other losses were all in November and all on the road at Houston, Saint Mary’s, and Utah State.

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